Chitin-glucan complex

K.M. Zlotnikov, A.V. Kazakov, N.G. Vinokurova, A.K. Zlotnikov, Study of chitin-glucan complexes from soil micromycete Cephaliophora tropica D3, Appl. Biochem. Microbiol, 43 (4), 449-452,2007. 

C. Roca, B. Chagas, I. Farinha, E Freitas, L. Mafra, F. Aguiar, R. Ohveira, M.A.M. Reis, Production of yeast chitin-glucan complex from biodiesel industry byproduct, Proc. Biochem., 47 (11), 1670-1675,2012. 

V.P. Ivshin, S.D. Artamonova, T.N. Ivshina, EE Sharnina, Methods for isolation of chitin-glucan complexes from higher fungi native biomass, Pol Scl Ser. B, 49 (11-12), 305-310, 2007. 

T.N. Ivshina, S.D. Artamonova, V.P. Ivshin, EE Sharnina, Isolation of the chitin-glucan complex from the fruiting bodies of mycothallus, Appl Biochem. Microbiol, 45 (3), 313-318,2009. 

D. Smirnou, M. Krcmar, E. Prochazkova, Chitin-glucan complex production by Schizophyllum commune submerged cultivation, Polish J. Microbiol, 60 (3), 223-228,2011. 

M.R. Vysotskaya, G.V Maslova, VA. Petrova, L.A. Nud ga, Electrochemical recovery of chitin-glucan complex from Pleurotus ostreatus basidial fungus and properties of the product,/. Appl Chem., 82 (8), 1390-1395,2009. 

The cell wall of fungi is a complex, multilayered structure formed by at least two major polysaccharides. These major polysaccharides have been used as a taxonomic criterion for fungi, as some of them contain chitin-glucans, and others, glucomannans.123... 

Nwe N, Stevens WF, Tokura S, Tamura H (2008) Characterization of chitin and chitosan-glucan complex extracted from cell wall of fungus Gongronella butleri USDB 0201 by enzymatic method. Enzyme Microbial Technol 42 242-251... 

It may be that this fact was associated with the rather complex composition of fungal mycelium, consisting of chitin enclosed in a glucan matrix (Bowman, Free, 2006). Therefore, mature saprophyte mycelium are completely covered by difficult-soluble glucans and the fraction of chitin in the apical cell wall is not sufficient. As such, we supposed that these cationic isoforms bound with another major component of the fungi... 

Fungi present a much more complex target than bacteria, eg yeasts, which constitute a large group of rather disparate eukaryotic organisms, are enveloped by a mixture of glucan, mannan, chitin, and lipoproteins, and separated from the plasma membrane by a periplasmic space. 

A historical review of the development of our knowledge of the yeast cell wall was given by Phaff (I). Most information based on chemical studies has been derived, by far, from studies with cell walls from baker s yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and closely related species. The principal components of Saccharomyces walls are several types of glucan and a mannan-protein complex which may contain variable proportions of phosphate. A low content of chitin (ca. 1% ) may be present depending on the number of times a cell has produced buds. The reason for this is that chitin is present only in the bud scars (ca. 3 pm2 in area) produced on the surface of a mother cell (2), each at a different place on the cell surface. 

---